When summer comes around, it’s time to let loose with the outdoor activities we love and fully enjoy the sunshine. With summer’s high temperatures, enjoying the sun can come at a high price to your skin. Wrinkles, ageing, dry skin, and the risk of skin cancer are the price you’ll have to pay if you do not take good care of your skin right in the summer sun.
To treat your skin right, you must take the necessary steps to keep it healthy, glowing and smooth. Here’s what you need to do in the Miami sun.
- Stay Informed
The most important way to keep your skin healthy is to stay informed, especially about how the sun impacts your skin. Basic information includes:
- Ultraviolet A (UVA) – It’s the longest of the suns wavelength and it penetrates to the deepest skin layer, the dermis. Damage in the dermis will cause skin ageing.
- Ultraviolet B (UVB) – Penetrating the skins upper layer, the epidermis; this wavelength contributes to sunburns, skin cancer and allergic reactions.
As science makes new developments on the sun’s effects on the skin, it’s important to keep researching so that you can make informed decisions on how to protect your skin.
- Moisturize with Sunscreen
Kill two birds with one stone. Your skin needs to be moisturized for two reasons
- To help maintain the moisture that is produced naturally by your body
- To add to the existing moisture and give your skin a glow
Get a moisturizer with sunscreen in it and you will have an easier time caring for your skin. Whether you are dark skinned or light skinned, boy or girl; always wear your sunscreen, even on overcast days. You need upwards of SPF 15 to achieve good protection. Apply the sunscreen at least 20 minutes before you go out into the sun and, on very hot days, carry your sunscreen so that you can touch it up. If you will be taking a swim reapply the sunscreen every 3 hours.
- Cover Up
The sun will suck moisture from your skin, so cover up as much as much as you can. Wear a hat to protect your face, sunglasses for the eyes and skin around the eyes and lightweight, light colored cotton fabrics for the rest of your body.
- Make Water your best Friend
You need to be moisturizing from the inside out. Drinking water will not only keep your skin hydrated from the dermis to the epidermis, but it will also flush out toxins that contribute to drying out your skin. Complement drinking water by eating fruits and vegetables that have high water content like watermelons, salads, pineapples etc.
- Take Your Skin on a Vacation
Your skin has been working hard throughout the year and summer is the best time to give it a break by not applying makeup with lots of chemicals. As the heat rises, so does your perspiration rate, leaving your skin’s pores open and crying out to breathe. The best way to help your pores is by not clogging them with makeup.
Following these tips will help you enjoy the summer sun in Miami while keeping your skin healthy.